The Waste Land is primarily regarded as a poem that epitomizes
the chaotic life of both individuals and society in the twentieth
century. Thematically, it reflects the disillusionment and despair
of the post World War I generation. The World that Eliot
portrays in his poem is one in which faith in divinely ordered
events and a rationally organized universe has been totally lost.
There is sterility and waste every where that has replaced
traditional order and fertility. Thus, the central subject of The
Waste Land is really a religious one.

The poem is not just a reflection of individual hopelessness and
despair, but a panoramic view of the total spiritual exhaustion
that has overtaken the modern world. The sterile, modern-day
human society waits in dire distress for a revival or regeneration
that may never come. Both the vegetation myths and the Grail
Romances that are frequently referred to in the poem serves to
underscore Eliotís main theme - the quest for spiritual salvation
or moral regeneration. The poem in its central theme recalls
Coleridgeís concerns in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner i.e. the
need for redemption through prayer, penance and self-abnegation
after a life of sin.

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Allied/Minor Themes

Closely allied to the central spiritual or religious theme of The
Waste Land is Eliotís concern with the socio-cultural scenario of
post-war Europe. The 20s generation attempted to destroy the
last vestiges of pre-war western civilization through their
iconoclastic attacks on the prudery and Puritanism of Victorian
times, their uninhibited displays of vulgarity, cheap
sensationalism and their desire to shock by extreme forms of
eccentric behavior. Western society had exhausted its spiritual
and cultural legacy. So people now sought replacements in
magic, science, other cults and a life of quick sensations through
indulgence in drug taking, sex and cheap thrills. The majority felt
that despair was the only honest response to their chaotic post -
war universe.

All this and much more of the socio-cultural malaise that
affected Western Society in the 1920ís is very effectively
projected by Eliot in his poem The Waste Land. In its epic
sweep, it captures the near collapse of 2000 years of Western
civilization. This forms the secondary theme of The Waste Land,
if not indeed at least a subject closely allied to the central
religious theme.

Other minor Themes are related to Eliotís perspective on time as
telescopic or continuous i.e. the past, present and future are
inextricably linked in one "continuum." Hence the poem
constantly shifts its perspectives from the present to the past and
vice versa. The ancient myths, classical legends, allusions to old
literary masterpieces, landmarks in World history are all
frequently juxtaposed in the context of contemporary events and
personalities, shedding a fresh and illuminating light on both the
past and the present. An understanding of Eliotís time concept is
crucial to over understanding of the poem itself.

Finally, another allied Themes of Eliotís The Waste Land is its
notions of the purposes of art and the structure of the artistic
personality as evident in its technique. Much of the poem brings
us face to face with the modern artistís dilemma of how to find
an adequate poetic form and expression to convey his/her inner
experience. It shows us that the modern poet is acutely aware of
the conflicts and contradictions the complexities and
fragmentation of his society so that he/she can no longer use
traditional methods of writing poetry. Hence the artist today is
forced to recreate his/her own esoteric myths and symbols, and
draw upon his/her own vast and unique range of reading for
references and allusions to adequately express his/her meaning or
experience. This, of course, leads to the charge that Eliotís
poetry, especially in The Waste Land is often abstruse and suffers
from extreme ambiguity. Thus, the disintegration of modern art
and poetry itself into the realms of obscurity, and elitism
becomes a crucial issue in Eliotís poem.